What did I think about this movie? As a film critic, I liked it. I liked the in-jokes and the self-aware characters. At the same time, I was aware of the incredible level of gore in this film. It is really violent.

Parents need to know that this movie nearly got an NC-17 rating for violence. Be aware especially that the "unrated" home-video editions contain the extra frames of bloodshed, usually mutilation by knife. Despite the (often foulmouthed) dialogue's flirtation with self-awareness and satire, the gore here really comes across as intended -- brutal and intense.

Families can talk about why the film was so popular.

Do fans consider it a realistic movie, a dark comedy, or a hip whodunit with post-modern twists?

Why are teens in particular so interested in horror movies?

Families can talk about how the teenagers are protrayed. What kind of role models are they?

The good stuff

Messages: The film may scream but it doesn't say anything good.

Role models: Almost all the principle characters are sarcastic, if not downright malicious teens, with very little evident empathy for the deaths of their buddies. Sidney, the heroine, seems to have the strongest sense of conscience, yet she unintentionally frames an innocent man for murder and commits some other very questionable acts.

What to watch for

Violence: Savage stabbings and throat-slittings, close-range shootings, lots of hand-to-hand fights with the killer. One casualty has her neck broken by a rising garage door. Another is electrocuted by a toppled television set.

Sex: The young characters speak frankly about sex and nudity. Though the act isn't explicitly shown, the heroine becomes intimate with her treacherous boyfriend, giving up her virginity, apparently (another frequent topic). Her late, offscreen mother is repeatedly described as a promiscuous home-wrecker, and apparently she was.

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